The private Hospital of Clinica Biblica in San Jose, Costa Rica is one of the top hospitals in all of Latin America
General Medical and Police Services
Medical care in San Jose is adequate at the public hospitals, but super at the private hospital. Areas outside of San Jose have more limited medical services, and road conditions increase driving times to hospitals for routine or critical medical care. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash or credit card payment for medical services. Local Cruz Roja (Red Cross) ambulances, usually the first responders to accidents, are minimally-equipped to handle emergencies.
U.S. medical insurance is not always valid in Costa Rica and many insurance companies are now covering Costa Rica, so check with your insurance broker. Supplemental medical insurance with specific overseas coverage, including a provision for medical evacuation, has been useful in many emergencies.
Costa Rica does employ a 911 emergency assistance system and it is the best in all of Latin America. However, response time varies widely in the remote areas; it can take up to several hours. But in the major cities, it is surprisingly fast. Read more... (1126 words, 3 images, estimated 4:30 mins reading time)
Costa Rica shrimp boat will just be one of 1000s that fish off the coast are now being tracked by satellite to see if they are involved in the drug trade.
In Sept, 2009 Costa Rican Fishing Institute (Incopesca) and with the help of organizations like The Billfish Association, established a satellite monitoring system to monitor and control the activity of the fishing vessels engaged in tuna fishing with purse seines in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Costa Rica. Generally, a countries EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles (370 km) out from its coastal baseline.
But was there more to this … was this just a preamble for more to come?
Last week Costa Rica had a reality lesson when US warships and troops suddenly appeared off the coast to help with President Chinchilla, commitment on the war against drugs. It is no secret that Costa Rica in the last few years has become the hub of drug trade. Cocaine in the bellies of shark and capturing mini submarines filled with the 1970 pounds of cocaine are just the tip of the iceberg. Read more... (670 words, 1 image, estimated 2:41 mins reading time)
US Marines have been deployed to Costa Rica to help combat the drug smuggling
Last week our email box was pretty much filled with, “Why the US Marines were invading Costa Rica?” Even at our Facebook account, a few commented on right-wing political BS, “It’s all about the oil, about building a military base in Costa Rica, and of keeping an eye on all the other dangerous countries around like Venezuela.”
However, I would like to comment on the one of the insanely ridiculous rumors and accusations received from Playas De Cocos where we quote from her email:
“Many of us believe that these ships have been evacuated from the Gulf because of the threat of an explosion from the oil well that has been spewing oil for over 80 days. Apparently the sea floor has raised up almost 30 feet and fissures are forming. Even though they have capped the well as of the early hours of the morning, no one seems to know yet if this cap will hold. They say that if the well explodes, this will cause a fire as large as a mountain and a tsunami that will wipe out many of the Gulf States.” Read more... (1137 words, 2 images, estimated 4:33 mins reading time)
Golfito, Costa Rica, has it all. Sportsfishing, ecotourism and culture
These days, the words Banana Republic are more likely to conjure up an image of neatly stacked chinos and v-neck sweaters than they are a place like Golfito. But when United Fruit built this town on the southwest coast of Costa Rica in 1939, there was nothing here but wilderness and Boruca, the region’s indigenous tribe. Fleeing a rash of banana disease. like what happened to Quepos, that was sweeping through their Atlantic coast plantations, United Fruit surveyed this deepwater bay sheltered within the Golfo Dulce and found untamed perfection. They built a massive dock, immaculate houses, schools, roads, a hospital-even a bowling alley-and they brought in workers from around the world. Most of all, they brought money and influence to a region that became their virtual fiefdom for nearly half a century.
That era ended a long time ago, with the last vestiges of Mama Chiquita (as United Fruit was called by its employees) pulling up stakes in the eighties. They left behind a company town without a company; Golfito is no longer immaculate but it is, once again, wonderfully Costa Rican. Read more... (1264 words, 2 images, estimated 5:03 mins reading time)
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tourism is Costa Rica’s top industry and new research shows North Americans traveling there in 2008 to fish generated $599 million – or about two percent of Costa Rica’s gross domestic product.
The study, conducted in 2009 by The Billfish Foundation, Southwick Associates and the University of Costa Rica, revealed 283,790 anglers visited Costa Rica and their economic impact even overshadowed commercial fishing. It was estimated 22 percent of those tourists visited the country for the exclusive purpose of fishing.
Recreational fishing surpasses commercial fishing revenue; more CR jobs.
From that $599 million the study also showed sportfishing generated almost $78 million in tax revenues for Costa Rica and 63,000 jobs. In comparison, the effect of commercial fishing for the same species sought by anglers generated approximately $528 million to Costa Rica’s gross domestic product. Commercial fishing contributed $68.6 million in tax revenue and created 57,000 jobs.
“We have already had the opportunity to present the results of this study to the incoming vice president and minister of tourism,” said Ellen Peel, president of The Billfish Foundation. “And we will be making a formal presentation to a wider cross sector of government and business leaders this summer. The leadership in Costa Rica had no idea that their country receives more benefits from a sustainable recreational harvest than from the subsidized excessive effort in the commercial fishery.” Read more... (964 words, 2 images, estimated 3:51 mins reading time)
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